A Study Guide for George Herbert's "Easter Wings"

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for George Herbert's "Easter Wings," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Poetry for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Poetry for Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Sep 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535822350

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Easter Wings

George Herbert

1633

Introduction

Easter Wings is a poem by seventeenth-century British poet George Herbert. It was first published in Herbert's posthumous collection The Temple in 1633. Herbert was an Anglican priest, and his poems are religious in theme, dealing with the relationship between the Christian believer and God. Easter Wings is no exception. The poem is about sin and redemption and is based on the Christian doctrine of the Fall of Man and man's redemption through the saving death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The poem is in the tradition of pattern poems, also called shaped verse, in which the typographical appearance of the poem on the page resembles the subject in some way. The lines of varying lengths are arranged to resemble a pair (or two pairs) of wings, which refers both to the metaphor of the lark employed in the poem and to the notion of the redeemed soul rising from its sinful state to a liberated condition through the grace of God. In the early editions of the poem, the lines were arranged vertically, which gave a more accurate picture of a pair of wings, but in most modern editions the lines are printed horizontally. In its simplicity and sincerity of feeling, as well as its ingenuity, Easter Wings is an excellent introduction to the work of this major poet.

Author Biography

Herbert was born on April 3, 1593, the fifth son of Richard and Magdalen Newport Herbert, a wealthy, aristocratic family from Montgomery, Wales. His father died when George was three, after which his mother moved the family of seven boys and three girls to Oxford, England. Five years later, they moved to London.